PLDs allow circuit designers to prototype relatively complex designs before finalizing the design. Compared to application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), PLDs provide designers the flexibility of revising or refining their designs in their laboratories without having a full-blown fabrication of each iteration or revision to the design.
In the field, end-users can program PLDs to readily implement a desired circuit. Should the user have a desire to modify the functionality of the circuit, the user can simply change the functionality and, hence, the circuitry, that the PLD implements. Although several approaches exist for configuring or programming PLDs, they suffer from various disadvantages, for example, shortcomings that can lead to errors in, or even malfunction or failure of, the user's circuit in the field.